There is an immense variety of prepared food products on the market. These food products are often prepared in a batch process, and some products are prepared using extrusion techniques. The food art contains an enormous amount of disclosures pertaining to the preparation of such prepared food products.
Due to the intense competition in the prepared food market, any advantage that can be obtained in the preparation of the product can be extremely valuable. These advantages are often manifested in improvements in efficiency as well as improvement in the quality and taste of the product itself. However, improvements in versatility for the systems and elements used in the production of the food product can also be important. Of course, the advantages are most striking if a design change improves all of the above-mentioned elements.
Multilayer prepared food products have been popular in recent times. These products are often two layers and are often formed by fairly complicated processes. Such products have often been expensive to produce and the processes are generally not amenable to easy modification so the product is not easily changed to accommodate market dynamics.
Therefore, there is a need for a process and system that can efficiently produce a multilayer prepared food product. Still further, there is a need for such a process and system that is amenable to efficient change.
More specifically, the production of a multi-layer prepared food product having two layers has often been complicated and expensive resulting in an expensive product. To the inventor""s knowledge, there is no multi-layer prepared food product having more than two layers that can be efficiently produced in a cost-effective and versatile manner. Therefore, there is a need for a process and system for efficiently producing a multi-layer prepared food product that has more than two layers.
Most specifically, to the knowledge of the inventor, no multi-layer prepared food product on the market at the present time simulates a cheeseburger. That is, a food product that has a layer of cheese and a layer of meat sandwiched between two layers of bread. Because of the popularity of cheeseburgers, it is believed that the market for a prepared food product that simulates a cheeseburger will be quite large.
Therefore, there is a need for a process and system for producing a prepared food product that simulates a cheeseburger.
The market for animal-consumable food is nearly as large as the market for human-consumable food. The animal food market has numerous forms of pet treats including treats that simulate many food items that are produced for human consumption. However, to the inventor""s knowledge, there is no prepared food product on the market that is intended for animal consumption that simulates a cheeseburger.
Therefore, there is a need for a prepared food product that is intended for animal consumption that simulates a cheeseburger.
The above-discussed disadvantages and drawbacks are overcome by a system that produces a multi-layer product by forming as many different ingredients as is required for the final product in steps that can be separate from each other and then combining these ingredients in an extrusion die that is formed to flow the separate ingredients in side-by-side flow paths and then combine them where necessary for the final product to be formed. The multi-layer product can thus include more than two layers. Specifically, two of the flow paths are sandwiched by a third flow whereby the final product is in the form of a sandwich with two ingredients in layers between two separate layers of a third ingredient for a total of four layers.
The overall system is quite versatile because as many ingredients and additives can be added to the die as desired and the die can have multiple flow paths defined therethrough whereby the ingredients are added together in layer form and the layers can be treated as necessary before further layers or further process steps are performed. The final product can be cut into lengths as desired so the final product takes a desired form. Modifying the final overall product is also cost effective because adding or deleting ingredients is efficient to achieve. The amount or type of additives can be easily changed as necessary so the desired overall final product is achieved in a cost effective and efficient manner.
A specific example of the food product is an animal food treat that resembles a hamburger, specifically, a cheeseburger. However, while this is the best mode for this invention, those skilled in the art will understand that the teaching of the present disclosure can be applied to any food product, including a food product for human consumption without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, it is intended that such other food products are also to be included in the scope of the present invention.
The present invention relates to the general art of food and edible materials, processes, compositions and products, and to the particular field of preparing or treating compositions involving combining diverse food materials.
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a multi-layer food product.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multi-layer food product that is easily formed into a sandwich form.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multi-layer food product having more than two layers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multi-layer food product that is cost-effective to produce.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multi-layer food product that is formed by a versatile system that is amenable to changes in food product form and/or food product content.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a multi-layer food product that is formed by a process that includes an extrusion step.
It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a multi-layer animal food product.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a prepared food product that simulates a cheeseburger.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a prepared food product that is intended for animal consumption and simulates a cheeseburger.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.
The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.